The ILUA area covers approximately 1,970 square kilometres of sea in the great Barrier Reef Marine Park, located off Cape York Peninsula, North of Lockhart River. The ILUA area is located within the jurisdiction of the Cook Shire Council.

Legal Status:

Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements on 16 November 2009. This is an Area Agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

The Kuuku Ya'u People's Marine Park Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) was agreed between:
- the State of Queensland;
- Lorraine Clarmont, Deborah Hobson, Albert Doctor, Lucy Hobson, Ivy Hobson, Donald Hobson on their own behalf and on behalf of the Kuuku Ya'u People;
- Northern Kuuku Ya'u Kanthanampu Aboriginal Corporation; and
- the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The ILUA prescribes the native title rights and interests of the Kuuku Ya'u People so as to ensure good management of the ILUA area. Notably, it provides for the protection of Green Turtles, dugongs and prescribed fauna.

Detailed Information:

Restrictions on the exercise of native title

In order to ensure 'the good management of the ILUA area', the native title parties agree:
- not to take more than 15 Green Turtles from the ILUA area in a calendar year (this number may vary, subject to determination procedures set out in the ILUA)
- not to take more than 15 dugongs from the ILUA area in a calendar year (this number may vary, subject to determination procedures set out in the ILUA)
- to carry out hunting practices consistently with the public safety and the conservation of the ILUA area
- not to use firearms without the agreement of the Department of Environment and Resource Management
- not to take or interfere with prescribed fauna
- to control and contain fires lit by the native title parties
- to remove rubbish and debris associated with the native title parties' use of the land

Background

The Kuuku Ya'u People's Marine Park ILUA was registered with the National Native Title Tribunal on 16 November 2009 following extensive negotiations between the Kuuku Ya'u People, the State of Queensland, the Commonwealth Government and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. It provides for the implementation of a native title consent determination completed in the Federal Court in June 2009 (for further information on the consent determination follow the link below).

The consent determination recognises the native title rights and interests of the Kuuku Ya'u People to approximately 1,980 square kilometres of territory covering eastern Cape York Peninsula and adjacent coastal waters. The Kuuku Ya'u People's Marine Park ILUA was negotiated to accommodate recognition of those rights and interests in the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which covers a substantial portion of the consent determination area.

The Kuuku Ya'u People's Marine Park ILUA is one of three ILUAs negotiated concurrently by the Kuuku Yu'a People with the Commonwealth Government, the Queensland Government and Cook Shire Council. Separate agreements were negotiated to provide for the ownership and management of Forbes Islands National Park, Quoin Island National Park and Piper Islands National Park (the Kuuku Ya'u Protected Areas Indigenous Land Use Agreement), as these national parks are managed by the Queensland Government (whereas the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is a Commonwealth agency), and to recognise the rights and interests of the Kuuku Ya'u People to a small parcel of land on Cape York Peninsula (the Portland Roads Indigenous Land Use Agreement), negotiated with Cook Shire Council.

Two of these ILUAs, the Kuuku Ya'u People's Protected Areas ILUA and the Kuuku Ya'u People's Marine Park ILUA, provide for the conservation of the determination area. Together the agreements cover approximately 197,000 hectares of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and 120 hectares of national park islands. In a Ministerial Statement, the Honourable Stephen Robertson indicated that the ILUAs would additionally provide training for a number of the Kuuku Ya'u People as conservation officers and marine park inspectors.